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History · Alto Pass

Alto Pass’ post office opened in 1875, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: maps from 1924 on and the census since 1880.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
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Photo: David Wilson from Oak Park, Illinois, USA · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Alto Pass began

When was Alto Pass founded?

1875

The Alto Pass post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 166 in 18802020 census: 319151 years
Founding year: the first Alto Pass post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Alto Pass’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Alto Pass are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.A historic districtThe Rendleman Orchards takes in 32 historic buildings.Boom and bustPeaked at 551 in 1910; 342 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19243 editions of the USGS map, 1924 to 1990. Watch Alto Pass change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Alto Pass’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Alto Pass’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the National Register

1 listing protects 32 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
32
each building in a district counts
first listed
2025
Rendleman Orchards
Districts
All 1 listings
Rendleman OrchardsDistrict · listed 2025

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Alto Pass, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 551

Peaked at 551 in 1910; 342 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Alto Pass’ Wikipedia page.

The story

How Alto Pass came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Alto Pass.

Read it all →

Alto Pass was originally known as Quetil, or "Quail Gap". The community was platted on January 20, 1875, when the narrow-gauge Cairo and St. Louis Railroad was extended to that point.

The settlement developed as a railroad and agricultural shipping point. According to the Sundown Towns Database, Alto Pass was named because it was the highest elevation in Illinois traversed by a railroad, and by the turn of the 20th century the village had a post office, general stores, hotels, a blacksmith shop, a lumber yard, and other businesses serving the local fruit and vegetable trade.

ChaptersBald Knob CrossRacial history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Alto Pass, 1875 to 1924

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Alto Pass post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 551
  5. 1924On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Alto Pass, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Untitled photo2003Untitled photo
On the map

Alto Pass on the map, 1924 to 1990

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Alto Pass. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Alto Pass on the 1924 USGS mapAlto Pass on the 1947 USGS mapAlto Pass on the 1990 USGS map1924Alto Pass sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Alto Pass.

Famous people

Famous people close to Alto Pass

Nobody well known was born in Alto Pass itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Laurie MetcalfAmerican actress · b. 1955
P
Paul GilbertAmerican guitarist · b. 1966
Agnes AyresAmerican actress · b. 1891
Ben FalconeAmerican actor, comedian, screenwriter and prod… · b. 1973
Justin DentmonAmerican basketball player · b. 1985
Frankie TrumbauerAmerican musician · b. 1901

Questions about Alto Pass’ history

What year was Alto Pass founded?

The Alto Pass post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Alto Pass?

One place: the Rendleman Orchards (listed 2025).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.